‘Liturgy’ is the word ‘worship’. But while worship can be done privately, ‘liturgy’ is always a public, group activity.
A working definition of ‘liturgy’ that is helpful is ‘The official, public worship of the Church’.
Some of the best-known forms of liturgy in the Roman Catholic Church are:
- Mass (or Eucharist)
- Baptism
- Confirmation
- Marriage
- Funerals
- Penance (or Confession)
In the Catholic Church, we worship using forms and patterns of worship that have developed during the Church’s 2000-year history. Every day of the year falls into a particular place into the church’s liturgical calendar, and certain scripture readings and prayers are assigned for use at Mass each day. The celebration of the rites of Baptism, Marriage, Funerals and so on are set out in the Church’s ritual of books.
Liturgy is always an action, something we do. It is a public action, a ritual action, and a symbolic action. It is the proclamation of the word that God speaks to us; it is in the breaking of the bread that we recognise Christ. We participate in the action of the liturgy by responding, singing, listening and joining the gestures.
Today's Liturgy
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Monday of the Ninth week in Ordinary Time
second Letter of Peter 1,2-7.
His divine power has bestowed on us everything that makes for life and devotion, through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and power.
Through these, he has bestowed on us the precious and very great promises, so that through them you may come to share in the divinenature, after escaping from the corruption that is in the world because of evil desire.
For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, virtue with knowledge,
knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with devotion,
devotion with mutual affection, mutual affection with love.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 12,1-12.
At the proper time he sent a servant to the tenants to obtain from them some of the produce of the vineyard.
But they seized him, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed.
Again he sent them another servant. And that one they beat over the head and treated shamefully.
He sent yet another whom they killed. So, too, many others; some they beat, others they killed.
He had one other to send, a beloved son. He sent him to them last of all, thinking, 'They will respect my son.'
But those tenants said to one another, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.'
So they seized him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.
What (then) will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come, put the tenants to death, and give the vineyard to others.
Have you not read this scripture passage: 'The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone;
by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes'?"
They were seeking to arrest him, but they feared the crowd, for they realized that he had addressed the parable to them. So they left him and went away.
Copyright © Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, USCCB
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